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Monday, December 29, 2014

Around the World in 52 Books in 2014

There are roughly 196 countries in the world, depending on how and when you count. In 2012, a group of us in GoodReads started a challenge called Around the World in 52 Books. In that year, I read 64 books from 48 countries. Last year I focused far more on Turkey, and read 20 books from and about that country alone. I read 69 books for the Around the World challenge last year, and checked a few more unread countries off the list.

This year I read another 52 books set outside the United States, with 15 countries I hadn't yet tackled. The highlight for me was the eight I read from and about Iceland, the focus of The World's Literature group. I also really enjoyed The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne, that takes place in a near future Ethiopia and India.

Here is my list! The asterisks indicate countries new to my around the world reading this year.

The list of countries still to tackle seems daunting, but I still have many unread books on some shelves at home. The World's Literature group will be shifting its focus to Oceania and Australia so I expect to read a bit in that area! I'd like to get back to baking from the region I'm reading in as well.